First, you have to understand that Israel was surrounded by many other kingdoms, that often they were prisoners of other lands.
Against God's will a LOT of them did things that were typical of the non-godly socieities around them. So laws had to be developed to handle situations that were caused by the sins of men.
In regards to Jabesh and Gilead:
The bible does not condone the actions at all.
It records them, but it does not say this was a command from God. It does not say it was condoned from God. It doesn't even say they asked God for guideance.
It does say, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."
And they did things that were very, very wrong, in the eyes of God.
This story is an example of how bad men are without God's guideance.
In regards to Moses and the Midianites:
They Midianites were slave owners who joined with the King of Moab to try to put a curse on Isreal. When that failed, they invited the Israelites to participate in a "ceremony" that worshipped the idol Baal-peor. This ceremony was a rituatlitistic orgie that resulted in a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites.
Moses' men were supposed to have killed anyone connected to that plague, and to have spared virgins. Instead, his men had sex with the women who had participated in the orgy.
Moses was furious, called the men impure for what they did, and reminded them that these women had caused the plague. He ordered the women killed,.
Now, if you want to debate whether the women deserved to die or not, that is one arguement.
However, you have come here stating this story shows that our bible condones rape. In fact, Moses is furious that these men "lay with these women" and orders them to be cleansed afterwards, etc.
It does not, therefore, "condone rape".
In regards to Deuteronomy.
Women in that society could not provide food or protection alone. This was a society that hunted and farmed. Women alone were considered helpless, and yes, useless.
The law stating that a man who raped a woman had to marry her was a law that protected this woman from starving to death in the streets. It stated that the man, from that day forward, was her provider and care taker. He had to care for her.
Which, I think, beats the heck out of our world's view that he goes to prison a few years and then forgets he ever harmed her.
In the second case in Deuteronomy, it does not say anything about rape. It says if an engaged woman (which in biblical times meant as much to them as marriage), sleeps with a man, and it is NOT rape (she did not cry for help), she and the man are guilty of adultery and suffer the penalty of adultery.
People love to use this as an example of rape, but it never says that the girl is forced. It says if she had relations and didn't cry for help..... the implication being, she was cheating on her future husband.
What your site calls "rape" is actualy the prevention OF rape. Instead of grabbing a woman captive in war and raping her in the streets, they are told that they have to take the woman into their house, not as a captive, but as an equal. They have to let her mourn the loss of her family, and they have to marry her before they can touch her.
In the Song of Deborah, it is not the Isrealite who is "dividing women." It is the mother of the General who the Israelites fought asking, "Where is my son," and being told by one of her women, "He is probably dividing the spoils of war." There is an irony in this, in that while the General was dividing women as a spoil of war, one of those women killed him.
And again, in Exodus, the verse you quote is a vote offering protection to the victim. If a man takes a woman as a slave (and it does not mention sex by the way), the girl is protected from being thrown out on the streets, without anyone to provide for her or protect her. The father can take her back, she can marry the son of the man her father sold her to, but she must be treated like a daughter to whoever marrires her. He cannot treat her like less than any free woman in his household.
And then:
Your verse from Zehcariah.
The bible says that there will be a day when the people of Israel are watching as other nations plunder Jerusalem and ravish the women, and at that time, God will go out and fight against those nations.
Again, not condoning rape, as your site would have people believe.
